Barker in prime time

As far as I’m concerned, the opening act for last night’s Spurs/Suns nailbiter wasn’t the awful Cavs/Nets game. It was Bob Barker in prime time doing one of his “Price Is Right” million-dollar specials.

Barker, who is retiring from the long-running game show in June, was his usual genial self. Though the show was a bit of a letdown — no Plinko, no million-dollar winner and a depressing parade of losers early on — it had two great moments.

1. One prize package included a “Family Guy” pinball machine. I was hoping to hear Stewie sound effects, but no such luck.

2. The setup to the first showcase was a salute to Barker’s showbiz career. To introduce a home-theater system, one of Barker’s Beauties held up a DVD of “Happy Gilmore,” an amazing bit of coolness for a show so relentlessly square and dated. That of course, is the movie in which Adam Sandler, as a hockey player turned golfer, sucker-punches Barker (“The price is wrong, Bob!”), only to have Barker beat him up.

And while there was no Plinko, there was Cliffhangers, the game that features the mountain climber and lots of yodeling. I always win that game, and last night was no exception.

Oh yeah, one contestant has a shirt that read, “Will neuter for Plinko chips.” Alas, no luck. I guess great minds think alike.